Driving the Day

Good Tuesday morning. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP in BETHLEHEM offered his “deepest condolences to those so terribly injured in this terrorist attack” in Manchester, United Kingdom.

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NEW LINE ALERT — “LOSERS” — TRUMP in the West Bank: Terrorists are “EVIL LOSERS IN LIFE.” TRUMP’S EXPLANATION, via pooler Mike Memoli: “So many young, beautiful innocent people living and enjoying their lives murdered by evil losers in life. I won’t call them monsters because they would like that term. They would think that’s a great name. I will call them from now on losers, because that’s what they are. They’re losers. And we’ll have more of them. But they’re losers. Just remember that.”

— THE LATEST: AP at 5:17 a.m., by Jill Lawless in Manchester and Gregory Katz in London, with Leanne Italie in New York, Mesfin Fekadu in Jersey City and Lori Hinnant and John Leicester in Paris: “An apparent suicide bomber attacked an Ariana Grande concert as it ended Monday night, killing 22 people among a panicked crowd of young concertgoers, some still wearing the star’s trademark kitten ears and holding pink balloons as they fled.

“Teenage screams filled the arena just after the explosion, which also killed the attacker and injured dozens. The attack sparked a nightlong search for loved ones — parents for the children they had accompanied or agreed to pick up, and friends for each other after groups were scattered by the blast. Twitter and Facebook were filled with appeals for the missing. … There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said police are treating the blast as an act of terrorism ‘until we know otherwise.’ …

“Forensic investigations are trying to determine if the attacker had accomplices, Hopkins said. He provided no information about the person who set off the bomb….There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Supporters of the extremist Islamic State group, which holds territory in Iraq’s Mosul and around its de facto capital in the Syrian city of Raqqa, celebrated the blast online. … If the explosion is confirmed as a terrorist attack it would be the deadliest in Britain since four suicide bombers killed 52 London commuters on three subway trains and a bus in July 2005.” http://apne.ws/2rOiVA5

AP BULLETIN at 4:42 a.m. — “SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korean military says it fired warning shot after unidentified object flew south from North Korea.”

ON THE WORLD STAGE — “Turkey tests Trump’s patience after protesters roughed up,” by Nahal Toosi: “Turkish officials, under pressure to prove loyalty to their autocratic president, are casting fresh blame on the United States following a violent clash last week between Turkish security guards and protesters in Washington. And there’s not a whole lot the Trump administration can do about it.

“Turkey’s Foreign Ministry on Monday summoned the U.S. ambassador in Ankara to lodge a formal protest days after Washington police intervened to stop Turkish security officials from beating up protesters. The violence near the Turkish embassy came soon after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with President Donald Trump at the White House, and video caught Erdogan watching some of the skirmish.

“The May 16 melee and subsequent diplomatic kerfuffle have offered an astonishing glimpse into the growing hostility between America and Turkey, two NATO allies at odds over how best to fight Islamic State terrorists, among other disputes.” http://politi.co/2rvlcnu

… @aarondmiller2: “In knowing [and] working with Netanyahu for decades, never — and I mean never — have I seen him so relaxed in presence of a US president.” … @robertdanin: “Commentators on @Channel2News repeatedly referring to Ivanka Trump by her Hebrew name ‘Yael’. Israelis seem to see her as family.”

— After departing Bethlehem, DONALD TRUMP went back to the hotel, and then to Yad V’Shem, Israel’s Holocaust museum. He is going to give a speech at the Israel Museum in the 7 a.m. hour on the East coast. He is then scheduled to depart for Rome.

THE PRIZE FIGHT CONTINUES: NYT and WAPO’s LATEST SCOOPS …

— “Trump asked intelligence chiefs to push back against FBI collusion probe after Comey revealed its existence,” by WaPo’s Adam Entous and Ellen Nakashima: “President Trump asked two of the nation’s top intelligence officials in March to help him push back against an FBI investigation into possible coordination between his campaign and the Russian government, according to current and former officials. Trump made separate appeals to the director of national intelligence, Daniel Coats, and to Adm. Michael S. Rogers, the director of the [NSA], urging them to publicly deny the existence of any evidence of collusion during the 2016 election. Coats and Rogers refused to comply with the requests, which they both deemed to be inappropriate …

“‘The White House does not confirm or deny unsubstantiated claims based on illegal leaks from anonymous individuals,’ [an unnamed] White House spokesman said. ‘The president will continue to focus on his agenda that he was elected to pursue by the American people.’ In addition to the requests to Coats and Rogers, senior White House officials sounded out top intelligence officials about the possibility of intervening directly with Comey to encourage the FBI to drop its probe of Michael Flynn, … The officials said the White House appeared uncertain about its power to influence the FBI. ‘Can we ask him to shut down the investigation? Are you able to assist in this matter?’ one official said of the line of questioning from the White House.” http://wapo.st/2qe2nR2

— NYT A1, “Michael Flynn Misled Pentagon About His Russia Ties, Letter Says,” by Mark Mazzetti and Matt Rosenberg: “Mr. Flynn … told investigators in February 2016 that he had received no income from foreign companies and had only ‘insubstantial contact’ with foreign nationals … In fact, Mr. Flynn had sat two months earlier beside President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia at a Moscow gala for RT, the Kremlin-financed television network, which paid Mr. Flynn more than $45,000 to attend the event and give a separate speech. His failure to make those disclosures and his apparent attempt to mislead the Pentagon could put Mr. Flynn in further legal jeopardy. Intentionally lying to federal investigators is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.” http://nyti.ms/2qQybx3 … The letterhttp://bit.ly/2q6oVrq

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TRUMP’S BUDGET OUT TODAY — “Trump’s budget hits his own voters hardest: The president’s proposal for next year’s federal spending calls for more than $1 trillion in cuts to social programs, including farm aid,” by Andrew Restuccia, Matt Nussbaum and Sarah Ferris: “Rather than breaking with Washington precedent, Trump’s spending blueprint follows established conservative orthodoxy, cutting taxes on the wealthy, boosting defense spending and taking a hatchet to programs for the poor and disabled — potentially hurting many of the rural and low-income Americans that voted him into office. …

“The president’s budget plan calls for more than $1 trillion in cuts to a wide range of social programs with millions of beneficiaries, from farm subsidies to federal student aid. That includes a $600 billion cut to Medicaid over 10 years, despite Trump’s repeated promises on the campaign trail not to cut the program. The budget also takes an ax to the federal food stamp program and Social Security Disability Insurance.

“Trump also proposes some of the deepest cuts to agriculture subsidies since Ronald Reagan, squeezing out nearly $50 billion over 10 years. Trump’s budget would drastically cut domestic programs controlled by Congress, slashing $1.7 trillion over 10 years. At the end of the decade, the U.S. would spend nearly twice as much on defense as on other domestic programs. Domestic discretionary spending would be capped at $429 billion per year, below 2004 levels, while military spending soars to $722 billion.” http://politi.co/2qRmxlF

— THE REALITY ABOUT BUDGETS… — This budget — like President Barack Obama’s budget before it — is dead on arrival on Capitol Hill. But it does represent a negotiating point for the administration as they pursue other budgeting priorities. That being said, we believe it’s going to be difficult for the House and Senate to pass a budget this year, which could stall — or stop — tax reform.

FLYNN WATCH — “Burr: Flynn could be held in contempt,” by Austin Wright and Burgess Everett: “Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr is not ruling out holding Michael Flynn in contempt of Congress as President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser continues to stonewall Congress. Flynn’s lawyer informed the Intelligence panel Monday that Flynn would not honor a subpoena for a list of his interactions with Russian officials in the run-up to last year’s presidential election.

“And the North Carolina Republican said his committee has ‘plenty’ of options to respond. ‘You’ll just have to wait and watch. [Contempt is] certainly one of the avenues that we could pursue,’ Burr told three reporters on Monday evening. ‘It does us no good to have people insist on pleading the Fifth if you’re out trying to get information. The only thing I can tell you is immunity is off the table.’” http://politi.co/2rOcxZz

INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE — “Trump close to choosing outside counsel for Russia investigation,” by WaPo’s Bob Costa and Ashley Parker: “The attorneys who have spoken to the White House and who are seen as the finalists are Marc E. Kasowitz; Robert J. Giuffra Jr.; Reid H. Weingarten; and Theodore B. Olson … Two other attorneys who were originally viewed as contenders but have since drifted away from the mix, at least momentarily, because of legal or professional obstacles are Brendan V. Sullivan Jr. of Williams & Connolly and A.B. Culvahouse Jr. … Kasowitz, who has known Trump for decades, is expected to take a leading role. A partner at Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman in New York, Kasowitz has represented Trump in numerous cases, including on his divorce records, real estate transactions and allegations of fraud at Trump University.” http://wapo.st/2rJFIxW

THE INVESTIGATION — “Mueller briefed on secret Comey memos, source says,” by CNN’s Pamela Brown and Shimon Prokupecz: “Additionally, he has already visited FBI headquarters, where he met with the counterintelligence agents who have been working on the case since last July, according to two people familiar with the matter.” http://cnn.it/2qb2BJj

NEW SHERIFFS AT 1600? “Trump eyeing Lewandowski, Bossie as crisis managers,” by Eliana Johnson and Josh Dawsey: “The White House is looking to wall off the scandals threatening to overtake the president’s agenda by building a separate crisis management operation. President Donald Trump personally reached out to two of his former campaign aides — his first campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, and his deputy campaign manager, David Bossie — to sound them out about working with the administration as crisis managers, according to two people familiar with the situation. … The scope and complexity of independent investigations has typically proved a challenge for regular White House staffers, who have struggled to juggle them with their day-to-day duties, and veterans of previous administrations say creating an independent operation can relieve some of the pressure on the press office.” http://politi.co/2q4DT1v

COMING ATTRACTIONS — “Ryan bucks White House, setting up clash on taxes,” by Rachael Bade: “Paul Ryan and the White House are barreling toward a tax reform show-down — a faceoff that’s becoming all but inevitable as the speaker continues selling a tax plan rejected by Trump officials. At issue is a controversial pillar of the House GOP tax plan that effectively hikes taxes on imports.

“Top administration officials from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to chief economic adviser Gary Cohn have warned the speaker that they’re not exactly fans of the so-called border adjustment tax — hoping Ryan would take a hint and change direction. But the Wisconsin Republican is refusing to back off, arguing in recent days that it’s ‘the smart way to go.’ And over the weekend, his key ally on the matter, Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas), began circulating talking points encouraging panel members to sell the scheme.” http://politi.co/2rcprEx … The talking pointshttp://politi.co/2qQhvaZ

— THIS IS EXACTLY THE TYPE OF INTERNAL DIVISION Mnuchin and other top White House officials have been trying to avoid. Mnuchin has spent weeks meeting with Republicans and even some Democrats on Capitol Hill and on K Street as he’s tried to build consensus and good will for a major tax reform bill. With the border adjustment tax all but dead in the Senate, it’s unclear what Ryan’s endgame strategy is as he continues to push the measure that is also fairly unpopular within his own ranks.

SNEAK PEEK — PROPUBLICA’S ALEC MACGILLIS in NYT MAGAZINE: “Jared Kushner’s Other Real Estate Empire: Baltimore-area renters complain about a property owner who they say neglects their homes and often sues when they leave. Few of them know the landlord is the president’s son-in-law”: “[A]mid the high-profile Manhattan and Brooklyn purchases, in 2011, Kushner Companies, with Jared now more firmly in command, pulled together a deal that looked much more like something from the firm’s humble past than from its high-rolling present. That June, the company and its equity partners bought 4,681 units of what are known in real estate jargon as ‘distress-ridden, Class B’ apartment complexes: units whose prices fell somewhere in the middle of the market, typically of a certain age and wear, whose owners were in financial difficulty. The properties were spread across 12 sites in Toledo, Ohio; Pittsburgh; and other Rust Belt cities still reeling from the Great Recession.” http://nyti.ms/2rvUVVO

THE JUICE …

— BRODERICK JOHNSON and ROBERT DOAR are joining the Path Forward Coalition, a joint project focused on the positive aspects of service industry jobs of the National Restaurant Association and the National Retail Federation, as senior advisers. Potomac West Group runs the coalition’s day-to-day operations. Look for Capitol Hill events in mid-June and mid-July.

— JESSICA SMITH started on Monday as chief operating officer at J Street. She previously was managing director within the public affairs and crisis practice at Burson-Marsteller.

Playbook Reads

PHOTO DU JOUR: Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas shakes hands with President Donald Trump after delivering a statement following their meeting in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on May 23. | Nasser Nasser/AP Photo

OFF MESSAGE PODCAST: Will Eric Garcetti throw his hat into the ring for 2020? In the latest episode of Off Message, Isaac Dovere sits down with the mayor of Los Angeles, a city, as Garcetti points out, with four million residents. California is the sixth-largest economy in the world and L.A. has the seventeenth-largest population globally, if it was an independent country. With Garcetti’s keynote at the California state Democratic convention next month, many party leaders across the country believe he could be a real contender. Listen and subscribehttp://apple.co/2nEa7y0

DRAIN THE SWAMP! – NYT A1, “White House Moves to Block Ethics Inquiry Into Ex-Lobbyists on Payroll,” by Eric Lipton: “The Trump administration, in a significant escalation of its clash with the government’s top ethics watchdog, has moved to block an effort to disclose the names of former lobbyists who have been granted waivers to work in the White House or federal agencies. … Mr. Shaub returned a scalding, 10-page response to the White House late Monday, unlike just about any correspondence in the history of the office, created after the Nixon Watergate scandal. … Dozens of former lobbyists and industry lawyers are working in the Trump administration, which has hired them at a much higher rate than the previous administration. Keeping the waivers confidential would make it impossible to know whether any such officials are violating federal ethics rules or have been given a pass to ignore them.” http://nyti.ms/2q56eEU … Shaub’s letterhttp://bit.ly/2rLHfnc

–“Amid complicated relations with U.S., Turkey hires longtime Trump lobbyist Brian Ballard,” by Florida Playbooker Marc Caputo: “President Donald Trump’s longtime Florida lobbyist, Brian Ballard, has expanded his practice globally and just signed a $1.5 million contract with the government of Turkey, which will be represented by the firm’s new big hire, former Florida Congressman Robert Wexler. … Wexler is new to lobbying and joined Ballard Partners in March. He’s still serving as president of the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace, a Washington-based think tank devoted to Israeli-Palestinian relations.” http://politi.co/2qJpJS9 … Subscribe to Florida Playbookhttp://politi.co/1OypFe9

TOP-ED – MONICA LEWINSKY in the NYT, “Roger Ailes’s Dream Was My Nightmare”: “Mr. Ailes, a former Republican political operative, took the story of the affair and the trial that followed and made certain his anchors hammered it ceaselessly, 24 hours a day. … John Moody, a Fox executive editor, reflected on that period[:] … ‘Monica was a news channel’s dream come true.’ Their dream was my nightmare. My character, my looks and my life were picked apart mercilessly. … My family and I huddled at home, worried about my going to jail — I was the original target of Kenneth Starr’s investigation, threatened with 27 years for having been accused of signing a false affidavit and other alleged crimes — or worse, me taking my own life.” http://nyti.ms/2rNf5am

MICHAEL WOLFF in The Hollywood Reporter, “at Roger Ailes’ Funeral: Loyalists Celebrate in an ‘Act of Defiance’”: “If the liberal media saw Ailes as a disgraced and broken man … his funeral was meant to be an act of defiance. Without apology, it was a celebration of husband, father, friend, employer, political figure, media titan, TV impresario and, hardly least of all, man of many provocations. … Most of all the villains were the Murdochs: Rupert Murdoch, who had hired Ailes in 1996, and his sons, James and Lachlan, who had assumed executive authority two years ago. Ailes had given the Murdoch family 20 years and built them a $30 billion company, and, in the opinion of family, friends and his confidants at Fox, had been sacrificed by them when it suited their purposes. On the day Ailes died, Rupert Murdoch had been advised that a condolence call to Ailes’ wife would not be well received. …

“The funeral two days later was held at Saint Edwards Roman Catholic Church in Palm Beach — the church where Rose Kennedy attended mass every morning when she was at her winter home. Ethel Kennedy, the wife of Robert F. Kennedy, attended the Ailes’ service with her son Douglas Kennedy, a long-time Fox News reporter. Along with Limbaugh and Kennedy were Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Bill Hemmer, Kimberly Guilfoyle and Liz Trotta. There was, too, Dennis Kucinich, the wild card Democratic presidential candidate whom Ailes had befriended, and Pat Caddell, the rogue Democratic political operative who had long bonded with Ailes as rogue Republican operative.” http://bit.ly/2qP1kuE

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DEMOCRATIC UNITY? — “Bernie backers rage over Calif. Democratic Party chair race,” by California Playbooker Carla Marinucci in San Francisco: “Supporters of the losing candidate in a bitterly disputed election to serve as chair of the California Democratic Party say they’ll begin a detailed audit of the votes on Monday. The move comes after protests, allegations of ballot stuffing and bitter disputes after votes at a weekend party convention. Longtime party operative Eric Bauman won the chairmanship of the California Democratic Party over the weekend — but his victory was marred by complaints of ballot-stuffing and floor protests. Backers of the Kimberly Ellis, a favorite of the ‘Berniecrat,’ activist wing of the party — say efforts to scrutinize the votes will begin immediately.” http://politi.co/2qRdotk … Subscribe to California Playbookhttp://politi.co/2bLvcPl

AT THE DEPT. OF EDUCATION — “DeVos says Washington will not mandate ‘school choice’,” by Caitlin Emma: “Education Secretary Betsy DeVos promised Monday night that the Trump administration would propose ‘the most ambitious expansion of education choice in our nation’s history,’ but said that states, rather than Washington, D.C., would make the decisions. ‘When it comes to education, no solution, not even ones we like, should be dictated or run from Washington, D.C.,’ she said. DeVos, though, offered scant details about the Trump administration’s vision for school choice.” http://politi.co/2rNTuP2

DATA DU JOUR — The Harvard Graduating Class of 2017 by the numbers,” by Harvard Crimson’s Mariel A. Klein: “A fifth of surveyed seniors reported that the 2016 election results changed their postgraduate career plans in some way. Of those who said the election results changed their plans, 12 percent said they took a job in the public sector instead of the private sector. Another 10 percent reported that they now hope to run for public office. … Among those who said the election changed their plans, 37 percent said they had been considering jobs in the federal government but decided against pursuing one.” http://bit.ly/2q5a4xD

HISTORY LESSON — “That Time the Soviets Bugged Congress, and Other Spy Tales: Allowing a photographer from the Russian state media into the Oval Office was an act of breathtaking recklessness,” by Calder Walton in POLITICO Magazine: “During a private meeting [with the Russians] in the Oval Office earlier this month, President Donald Trump … [barred] U.S. reporters and photographers … but bizarrely, a photographer from the Russian state-run media agency, TASS, was admitted. … [T]hough it may seem like a storyline from The Americans, fears that the TASS photographer may have planted an electronic monitoring device in the Oval Office are not as far-fetched as they first seem. In fact, the Kremlin is a past master of planting hidden listening devices in America’s most sensitive government buildings. During the Cold War, Soviet intelligence used TASS as cover for espionage, and in one operation, used it to plant a bug at the center of Capitol Hill.” http://politi.co/2qOURQn

MEDIWATCH — “Judge won’t move libel suit against BuzzFeed over Trump dossier,” by Josh Gerstein: “A federal judge has turned down BuzzFeed’s request to move a libel suit over its publication of a dossier contained unverified allegations against President Donald Trump. BuzzFeed and its editor-in-chief Ben Smith asked that the case be relocated to New York City, but Miami-based U.S. District Court Judge Ursula Ungaro issued a ruling Monday refusing to give up the case filed by Russian tech executive and entrepreneur Aleksej Gubarev.” http://politi.co/2qbYY5V

— After JAMES SUROWIECKI left The New Yorker in March, ADAM DAVIDSON and SHEELAH KOLHATKAR are now writing The Financial Page column in his place, on a rotating basis. Davidson is a staff writer for the magazine and previously was the “On Money” columnist and a contributing writer for the N.Y. Times Magazine and co-founded and co-hosted NPR’s “Planet Money.” Kolhatkar, author of “Black Edge: Inside Information, Dirty Money and the Quest to Bring Down the Most Wanted Man on Wall Street,” is also a staff writer at the magazine and previously was features editor and national correspondent for Bloomberg Businessweek.

— Washington Examiner is launching “Trump’s America,” a four-year long reporting project that will cover the Trump presidency with long-form reporting in nine counties that helped deliver the election to Trump. Daniel Allott, deputy commentary editor for the Examiner, and his twin brother, documentary filmmaker Jordan Allott, will report from these counties regularly during the Trump presidency. http://bit.ly/2qbkszK

Playbookers

SPOTTED: John Kerry shopping yesterday at Hartford’s Bradley Airport gift shop looking at a Hartford Whalers cap after receiving his honorary degree at Yale earlier in the day … Tamron Hall, April Ryan and Suzanne Malveaux last night leaving a private dining room at Centrolina.

OUT AND ABOUT — KALORAMA CONVERSATION — POOL REPORT from a dinner party last night: “[T]he rise of populism in the US and Europe was the convening hook for a diverse group of D.C. glitterati at the home of French Ambassador to the U.S. Gerard Araud and organized by The Atlantic. President George W. Bush once said that his second choice home in D.C. behind the White House was the French Ambassador’s residence. The opening provocateur was ‘Axis of Evil’ wordsmith and Atlantic Senior Editor David Frum on his views on the rise of autocracy and populism in America and abroad.”

ENGAGED — Sari Bourne, a pharmaceutical and biotechnology senior associate at Hogan Lovells, got engaged to Matt Kaplan, an Obama and Clinton campaign alum and veteran of the Senate and House. Kaplan, a California native and Oberlin alum, proposed during a weekend stay at the Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Virginia. Bourne, a San Francisco native and Stanford/Emory Law graduate, said yes. Their first date took place at Sonoma Restaurant and Wine Bar on Capitol Hill in 2015 and the wedding will be in the Bay Area in 2018. Pic http://bit.ly/2qQq03N

— James Hewitt, senior director at strategic comms firm Dezenhall Resources and an RNC alum, got engaged to Cara Read of Bloomberg Government. He popped the question over champagne and Cabernet Sauvignon in Prague. Pic http://politi.co/2qPcWOu

WELCOME TO THE WORLD –AARON BLAKE, senior political reporter for The Fix at WaPo and DANIELLE BLAKE, associate VP for public affairs at AdvaMed, email friends and family: “Wanted to let you know that Aria Marie Blake arrived [Monday] morning at 4:41 a.m., 7 hours before her scheduled c-section (apparently already making her own decisions). She weighed in at 7 lbs and 2 oz, 20.5 inches long. We are totally smitten, as is big brother Grayson.” Pics http://politi.co/2q59IqN … http://politi.co/2qbtVqI

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: WaPo’s Dana Priest, Pulitzer Prize winner and the pride of Canoga Park, Calif. How she’s celebrating: “In the morning, I’ll celebrate my birthday by trying to convince a group of students to get involved in helping journalists imprisoned overseas, my newish passion. Then I’ll take a horseback riding lesson as a gift to myself. I’ll have dinner in our backyard garden with friends and family.” Read her Playbook Plus Q&A: http://politi.co/2qfl1HX

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The host of TYT Network's nationally-syndicated Bill Press Show (Monday-Friday from 7-9am ET), Press attends the daily White House press briefing and writes a weekly column for the powerhouse politics website The Hill.